The Portland Trail Blazer’s Damian Lillard shoots against the Orlando Magic’s Victor Oladipo (5) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore, on Jan 8. (AP)

Johnson-led Nets tame Warriors Pacers toppled

NEW YORK, Jan 9, (AP): Joe Johnson scored 27 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ season-high fourth straight victory, a 102-98 win Wednesday night that snapped the Golden State Warriors’ 10-game winning streak and prevented the first 7-0 road trip in NBA history.
Kevin Garnett scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter and stole Stephen Curry’s pass with the Warriors down three in the final half-minute.
Shaun Livingston made the tiebreaking free throw with 1:12 left when he appeared to get away with hooking Curry, then Johnson made four in a row for just enough breathing room to allow the Nets to remain unbeaten in 2014.
Curry scored 34 points for the Warriors, who were bidding for a franchise-record 11th consecutive victory. But until Curry’s jumper with 5.8 seconds to go, they didn’t make a field goal after Klay Thompson’s 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining that gave them a 93-89 lead.

Hawks 97, Pacers 87
In Atlanta, Kyle Korver scored 17 points, Pero Antic added 16 and Atlanta raced to a big lead before holding off weary Indiana and beating the team with the NBA’s best record.
The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak and extended Indiana’s misery at Philips Arena, where the Pacers (28-7) haven’t won since 2006. They dropped their 12th in a row in Atlanta, the team’s longest active road losing streak against any team.
Indiana looked very much like a squad playing its fourth game in five nights and also had dealt with travel issues because of the arctic weather. The Pacers managed just 12 points in the first quarter and 32 in the opening half — both season lows.
Paul George led Indiana with 28 points.

Clippers 111, Celtics 105
In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin scored 29 points, Jamal Crawford added 26, and Los Angeles defeated Boston to improve to 16-3 at home.
Jared Dudley scored 18 points and Darren Collison had 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in place of the injured Chris Paul. DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 13 rebounds in giving Clippers coach Doc Rivers a second win over his old team this season.
Los Angeles improved to 12-10 without Paul in the lineup since he arrived in 2011. He’s out six weeks with a separated right shoulder.
Jordan Crawford and Avery Bradley scored 24 points each in Boston’s sixth straight loss overall and ninth in 10 games. The Celtics have dropped six in a row on the road while continuing to struggle without the injured Rajon Rondo, who has a torn ACL in his right knee.

Suns 104, Timberwolves 103
In Minneapolis, Goran Dragic had 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds and Gerald Green’s baseline jumper with 3.9 seconds left to help Phoenix stun0 Minnesota.
The Suns (21-13) trailed by six points with just over 90 seconds to play, but closed the game on a 7-0 run for maybe their most improbable win yet. Channing Frye scored 22 points and hit five 3-pointers, and Green finished with 14 points for Phoenix, which was playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Kevin Martin scored 20 points for the Wolves, but his runner at the buzzer clanked off the rim. Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Love combined to shoot 10 for 36 and the Timberwolves failed to get over .500 on their seventh straight try.

Spurs 112, Mavericks 90
In San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 25 points, Tim Duncan had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and San Antonio never trailed in cruising past Dallas.
Marco Belinelli had 17 points, Kawhi Leonard added 12 points and Patty Mills scored 11 for San Antonio (28-8), which recaptured the Western Conference’s best record ahead of Oklahoma City (27-8).
Monta Ellis had 21 points and Vince Carter added 14 points. No other player scored in double figures as the Mavericks lost their seventh straight to the Spurs.
Dirk Nowitzki was limited to eight points, shooting 3 for 14 and making his only two free throws attempts.
Both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back, with San Antonio winning in overtime at Memphis and the Mavericks topping the Los Angeles Lakers in Dallas.

Rockets 113, Lakers 99
In Houston, James Harden tied a season high with 38 points and Dwight Howard added 20 points and 13 rebounds to propel Houston past Los Angeles.
Howard got his first win against his former team as the Rockets used a big third-quarter run to take the lead and send the injury-riddled Lakers to their third straight loss.
The Rockets trailed by a basket in the third quarter before going on a 17-2 run to take an 80-67 lead and roll to win.
Harden continued his recent torrid scoring with his third straight 30-point game. He has piled up 113 points in the last three games combined.
Nick Young scored 25 points to lead Los Angeles, and Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks scored 21 each.

Trail Blazers 110, Magic 94
In Portland, Oregon, Nicolas Batum had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 14 assists for his fourth career triple-double and Portland handed Orlando its fifth straight loss.
LaMarcus Aldridge kept Portland in it despite a sluggish start and finished with 36 points and nine rebounds. The Blazers, who came in having lost four of their last six, avoided a season-high three-game losing streak.
Arron Afflalo had 22 points for the Magic, who were without center Nikola Vucevic. He sustained a concussion in a loss to the Clippers on Monday and is day to day.

Wizards 102, Pelicans 96
On New Orleans, Trevor Ariza scored 21 points, John Wall added 20 and Washington beat New Orleans to win for the sixth time in its last seven road games.
Bradley Beal added 17 points, Jan Vesely 12 and Marcin Gortat and Nene 11 each for the Wizards, who recorded their second road win in as many nights.
Eric Gordon scored 23 points and Anthony Davis 21 for the Pelicans, who were coming off a four-game road trip that saw them endure a two-day delay in Indianapolis because of the winter storms that paralyzed air traffic this week.

Raptors 112, Pistons 91
In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had 21 points and nine assists, Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Toronto handed slumping Detroit its sixth consecutive loss.
DeMar DeRozan shook off a slow start to finish with 19 points and Terrence Ross had 17 for the Raptors, who went 31 for 34 from the free throw line to snap a two-game skid and win for the sixth time in eight games.
Amir Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Toronto, which leads the Atlantic Division.
Brandon Jennings had 22 points and Rodney Stuckey returned after missing the previous three games with a sore right shoulder to score 14 for Detroit, which has not won since a 115-92 victory at Cleveland on Dec 23. The Pistons have dropped eight of nine overall.